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Tokyo: Global shares sank on Monday, June 8, after Wall Street ended last week with its worst day since October, while oil prices jumped more than USD 4 as fighting flared between Israel and Iran.
South Korea’s Kospi led the global retreat, plunging 8.3 per cent on heavy selling of technology shares and extending losses that on Friday, June 5, gave the S and P 500 its biggest single-day drop in months.
The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.2 pc, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 pc.
Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday, targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire. Iranian state television reported the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without immediately elaborating.
American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalised and the latest attacks further strain efforts to end the conflict. The US war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude, the international standard, jumped USD 4.60 to USD 97.69 a barrel. Benchmark US crude surged USD 4.13 to USD 94.67 a barrel.
In early European share trading, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7 pc to 8,161.42, while the German DAX dipped 0.8 pc to 24,552.77. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4 pc to 10,331.24.
During Asia’s day, the Kospi in Seoul slipped 8.3 pc to 7,484.41 as Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest company, dropped 10.2 pc. SK Hynix declined 7.7 pc.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 3.9 pc to finish at 64,024.60. The Japanese government revised the annualized economic growth rate to 1.8 pc for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1 pc.
Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan’s Taiex lost 3.5 pc and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.3 pc to 24,642.33. The Shanghai Composite shed 1.7 pc to 3,959.34.
Markets in Australia were closed for the King’s Birthday, a holiday.
Friday marked the biggest one-day drop for Wall Street since October 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100 pc tariff on imported goods from China.
The S&P 500 sank 2.6 pc after a strong jobs report boosted expectations about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year, further darkening sentiment already dimmed by worries over a possible end to the rally in tech shares driven by the boom in investment in artificial intelligence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 pc, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2 pc.
In currency trading early Monday, the US dollar inched down to 160.23 Japanese yen from 160.25 yen. The euro cost USD 1.1521, up from USD 1.1515.
This post was last modified on June 8, 2026 3:11 pm